by Hunter Dawkins, Publisher/AP Member – thegazebogazette@gmail.com
For the second consecutive year, West Harrison High School dominated the Long Beach Bearcats 54-0 Friday night, October 22, 2022. With the shutout, the Hurricanes pitched two for the first time in school history during this season.
The ‘Canes (5-3, 2-3) defense overshadowed the game, scoring four interceptions for touchdowns, blocking a punt, recovering a fumble, having three sacks and finishing with seven tackles for loss.
“Always want to give praise and glory to God whose their head of my life even though we took one on the chin last week by maybe the best team in the state (Picayune),” said West Harrison Head Football Coach Quincy Patrick. “Our defense played lights out, Coach Brown our defensive coordinator does a great job along with the defensive staff and it was great to be back in the win column.”
Long Beach got the first possession, but West Harrison defensive back Jahmad McGowan made the first interception, which he returned for a 35 yard touchdown with 8:59 in the first quarter. Following the extra point conversion, the score was 7-0 in favor of the ‘Canes who never looked back.
The halftime score was 35-o West Harrison and the Hurricanes chipped in 19 more in the second half to earn its third victory in the school’s existence over Long Beach, their cross-interstate rival.
Offensively, the stats were not alarming as there were only 25 plays. BJ Johnson led the ‘Canes in rushing yards with 63 on 7 carries and a touchdown. The starting tailback trio of Trey Harris, Jeremy Jones, and Javon McCalebb had a combined 96 rushing yards on 10 carries, but with three touchdowns.
The real story of the night was West Harrison’s defense, specifically with turnovers. Freshman Linebacker Noah German returned two interceptions for touchdowns from 40 and 20 yards, respectively. ‘Canes Safety Torrance Skidmore returned the longest interception for a score in team history, bringing it back 108 yards in the first half.
Following a fumble recovery by defensive lineman Kadarrius Reed, a blocked punt from freshman linebacker Terrance Young, and three sacks by West Harrison defenders John Godber, Harley Hendrickson, and Joshua Lane; the game belonged to the ‘Canes defense.
Long Beach (0-9, 0-5) has a current 27-game losing streak, which goes back to 2020. In the previous weeks, the Bearcats showed life, but injuries to high profile players cost their attempt to gain traction.
West Harrison will play on the road Friday, October 28 against Vancleave. Historically, the ‘Canes are 0-6 when playing the Bulldogs, but need a win to stay alive in the playoff hunt. Long Beach will host the #2 Picayune Friday night in their last home game of the season at the Lumpkin-Magee Stadium.
Both games will begin at 7pm and featured on the NFHS Network.
